


The Runaway

by xeirani



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Family, Gambling, High School, Homophobia, Liam's not an OC and that's important, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Multi, Percy is a great big brother, Polyamory, References to Drugs, Sally Jackson feels, Self-Esteem Issues, but these are probably the most important, i know very little about the law, i might update it as the story goes on, i think Luke is such a great character, i'll probably update the archive warnings as well, like too many to name, please bear with me, sometimes Jason and Piper can be dumb, the worst slur in my opinion is censored because i'm not comfortable even typing it out, there are way more relationships and characters in the actual story, which is why i like writing him in universes without the gods so he can shine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xeirani/pseuds/xeirani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>modern!AU where Percy lived in New York with his mom until life happened and his guardianship went to Gabe. He still keeps watch over her, though, and finds himself bonding with his little step-brother Tyson (secretly - no one could know). Then, tragedy strikes, and Percy realizes that he only has a little time to act before Tyson is stuck in the same situation as he is. He heads to San Francisco, to the rich gated-community of Olympus, where he knows that the most well-known Child Custody lawyer in the country (with a rumored enormous, sympathetic heart hidden being his formidable, stern demeanor) Hades di Angelo resides. How could he have known that his birth father, one Poseidon Attwater lives right next door?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be Part 1 of my goodbye to the Percy Jackson series. The fic should span a year-ish, and will be updated over the course of this year as well.
> 
> So far, I've only written this prologue. I feel it's still pretty rough, but school starts for me tomorrow, so I know that I have to post this now. I hope you like it!

**1992**

The January sun rises on Olympus, a tiny gated neighborhood in San Francisco, and six incredibly large moving trucks shudder their way up to the most magnificent houses on the block.

The neighbors wake up later that morning to find that the most expensive homes in the neighborhood that have been on sale for months have all been bought on the same day. A few braver souls go out to welcome the new residents to the block and discover the six East Coasters having coffee together, already very good friends.

It quickly spreads that Zeus Grace, the CEO of a major airlines, Poseidon Attwater, an Olympic swimmer, and Hades di Angelo, a lawyer with a famous, successful, firm, are warm, inviting people. _They grew up together, practically brothers_ , the rumors say, _and now they’re living near each other because they want the same for their families_.

The irony of their names is not lost on their neighbors, who quickly nickname their reluctant wives to match. Garnet - Persephone now - is particularly displeased because she dislikes the idea that in the myths, her namesake was kidnapped and forced into matrimony. Still, she allows the will of the neighborhood to pass because Olympus is such a pleasant neighborhood and she finds herself liking the idea of this quiet, happy suburban life more and more as the days go by.

It gets out rather fast when Odessa - Hera - begins to show, that the neighborhood can expect new life within its borders soon enough. Zeus and Hera bring home their new son, proud as can be, in early August, opening the doors of their house to see their friends - new and old - clamoring to meet the youngest member of the Olympus family.

His name is Harry, but he is called Hercules so often that his given name seems more like an irritating epithet used by people who don't know him well enough.

He's a bright, happy child who rarely cries, and his parents decide from the first look at his face that they're going to spoil him, give him everything he could ever dream of.

For a while, Hercules is the only baby around, but everyone knows that the wait won't be long because within a month after his birth, Ino “Amphitrite” Attwater announces that she's expecting.

_Rich coughs. Sally shudders at the horrible grating sound._

_“Uncle Rich,” she whispers. “You need to go to a hospital.”_

_He gives her a sad look. “I'm fine, Sally,” he says. He tries to stand, but the feat proves to be too great for him to accomplish, and he crashes back into the sturdy oak chair with a thump._

_Sally winces, and inside she struggles with what to do next. Rich works part-time at a local grocery store, and even that is proving to be too strenuous of an undertaking with his declining health. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and makes her decision._

_After all, Uncle Rich has been taking care of her for a decade now. She needs to use this as an opportunity to give back for all he has done for her._

**1993**

Trent “Triton” Attwater is born premature in May, and his parents are overjoyed. Poseidon decides to put his swimming career in the past to focus on his family, becoming a marine researcher because the water is all he was ever trained for. Looking at Triton’s sleeping face, both he and Amphitrite decide independently that their child will pick up where his father left off.

Peter Castellan, son to Herman - Hermes - and May Castellan is born on exactly December 31st. The two Castellan’s are good friends of the “Big Three” - hence Herman’s nickname - and it’s generally understood that Peter will be raised with the other two boys even before he pops out.

Peter grows up listening to his mother reading him stories each night. By far, his favorite is J.M.Barrie’s most famous novel (which will be adapted into a movie when he is 11). He loves it so much that his parents begins calling him “Pan,” a name, his mother, the go-to Greek scholar of Olympus, supposes fits him remarkably well.

_Sally resists the urge to groan as she stares at the bills for utilities. She had barely scraped by last month while paying Rich’s hospital bills; she's going to need to pick up extra shifts for the next_ _month _ _if she wants to even have a chance at being able to pay these in time._

_Then, she thinks of her uncle, finally getting the care he needs in the hospital, and she's glad to do it. She'll work herself to the brink if it means whatever family she has left survives._

**1994**

In March, Sonny Solace - who goes by Apollo - suddenly has two infants in his arms at all times. No one knows who Austin and Kayla’s mother is, and most believe him when he says that he's not the father. All anyone has figured out is that he was entrusted with them by a family member who couldn't look after them. No one’s willing to push for answers when they see the sad look in Apollo’s eyes.

His younger twin sister Art, who is immediately nicknamed Artemis, moves into the neighborhood in November to be closer to her job as a Humane Law Enforcement Officer (because though she is an avid hunter, she is never wasteful in the lives she takes) and part-time Humane Educator. And if Artemis spends far too much of her time with her new niece and nephew, no one comments.

Between all the drama with the Solace’s, Zeus and Hera’s second child and first daughter is born. They call her Helen, and everyone in the neighborhood is in agreement that she is the most beautiful baby that they have ever seen.

_Sally wants to punch a wall. Some kids from her old high school came by the bowling alley and started to make fun of “the dropout slut.” People seem to have gotten it in their heads that she left because she was pregnant. She never liked school that much, but it still hurts to have the fact that she didn’t get to continue shoved in her face constantly._

_Her manager fired her for “starting a fight,” but Sally chooses to remember it as her putting some idiots in their place. Still, she needs to find a new job_ _fast _ _if she wants to make this month’s rent, on top of all her other bills. Luckily, she's been racking up experience for the last two years, so it shouldn't be too hard._

**1995**

Kym Attwater and Maka di Angelo are born just days apart in February. Everyone congratulates Hades and Persephone for their first child, even Hercules who has just learned the word.

Triton doesn't take very well to his new sister. He's not jealous of her, necessarily, but more annoyed by her constant crying. Kym is not a very happy baby.

If anyone were to ask May Castellan, she’d tell them to call the infants Kymopoleia and Makaria respectively, but no one asks her, and the girls never have to go through having long, unfortunate nicknames thrust upon them by their friends and family.

_Sally feels empty. She's wasted all her tears in the last few weeks, sobbing to herself in the dark, not showing up for work, lying at home and withering away._

_Rich passed away in his sleep. She didn't even get to say goodbye. What really got to her, though, was the fact that she didn't even have anything nice to wear to the funeral. That was when the waterworks started._

_She feels like she has no tears left. She's got to move on, to survive. She starts by getting up, walking to the bathroom, and splashing her face with cold water. Then, she forces herself to put on some real clothes and go outside, to see the light of day for a bit._

_Sally finds her lease and makes a note of the opt-out clause Rich had pointed out to her years ago. She spends the next few days searching for a viable renter. She sells most of Rich’s stuff beyond the essentials and packs her bags._

_Soon, she's shacked up within a cheaper apartment far away, her only belongings some toiletries and a large mattress. She feels like she's truly living for the first time in weeks. She's on her own now, but she'll make it. She has to._

**1996**

Mellie di Angelo is the only new birth this year. Again, May Castellan calls the babe Melinoë in her mind, but chooses not to voice her thoughts out loud. Like Kym, the babe turns out to be a crier.

_Sally finds full time work in a nice little candy shop called Sweet On America in Grand Central. It's always been a little dream of hers to work in a place like this. She's the only employee other than a young man who picks up the shifts that she has off and the sweet old woman who owns the place._

_All of Sally’s bills are paid early for the first time in a long while, and she doesn't have to worry about not eating or not sleeping enough either. She decides to use this tiny surplus of money she finds herself with to begin to stock her apartment with more essentials. Her first order of business: a real bed; second: a chair or two; third: world domination._

**1997**

Theodore Attwater is born in January and dubbed Theseus the same day by May who assists the panicking Amphitrite in giving birth in the back of a taxi cab. Poseidon shows up several hours later - guiltily, as the phone he had for work had been off despite Amphitrite asking him to leave it on - and is denied entrance into his wife’s hospital room for several hours until May takes pity on him and convinces her friend to let him see his son.

Laia, the wife of Henryk Beckendorf - who had been dubbed Hephaestus many years previously for the auto shop he owns - gives birth to Charles in September.

There's awkwardness all around when Friday “Aphrodite” Swan, Hephaestus’ cheating ex-wife, shows up to congratulate the new parents. This is compounded upon when Reese - Ares - La Rue, the one she had an affair with, appears as well. But it appears all three have made their peace with each other when Aphrodite pats Hephaestus on the back proudly and tells him she's happy for him, and Ares raises a glass to the happy family.

Aphrodite also announces that she's expecting her second husband’s baby, and she and her third husband are extremely happy. Another glass is raised by Ares, though this one is somewhat more reluctant. Not many can tell.

_Sally has found herself a suitor recently in Jim, the other Sweet on America employee. She's not quite ready for any sort of relationship at this moment, not when her apartment still needs new lights and one of her garage-sale appliances breaks every other week. So, she turns down his offer of coffee, of dinner, of a movie every time._

_Part of her wonders when, if ever, she will be ready to have a man in her life. She'd dated a couple of boys before, but that seems like lifetimes. She'd like to hope that maybe one day, she'll meet someone and she'll be able to take a step forward with them. For now, though, Sally is focused on the road directly ahead of her._

**1998**

Soon after her daughter is born in May, Aphrodite’s third husband leaves her. As a form of petty revenge, while they are separated, she legally changes Silena’s name to the babe’s birth father’s (Beauregard). It doesn't really bother him much, as he has never really wanted much to do with being a father anyway.

It’s because of his lack of ability as a dad that Aphrodite wins her case. By the time they are in court, the heavily-bloated woman makes a sympathetic sight as she challenges him with the help of Hades - usually a child-lawyer, but he’ll make exceptions - and manages to sway the jury on her side. Her ex-husband is incredibly surprised to see that she is pregnant and eventually concedes that he can’t remember whether or not she told him.

While he works on helping Aphrodite, Hades’ third daughter is brought into the world. She is happier than any baby the neighborhood has ever seen. They name her Bianca, after Hades’ mother who has recently passed, and, thinking deeply, Hades asks his wife if they can name their next child after his long-dead father.

Persephone splutters because they already have three kids, and she is lying on her hospital bed having _literally_ just given birth to the latest one. Then, she starts laughing because she loves him. He lets out a few snorts as well, which wakes newborn Bianca up, and she starts crying. Hades sighs, smiling at the love of his life as she gently rocks their child, and he takes the baby from her, telling her to rest.

_So many teenagers come into Sweet On America after school that it makes Sally wistful, remembering the age when passing math was her only real worry. Not that she would have anyway._

_Sally never liked school much beyond her English class. She liked words and the way she could twist them into something that really spoke to the soul, that meant_ _something_ _. Her younger self wanted to be a best-selling author, and part of her has never really grown out of that dream._

_She toys with the idea during the slower hours of her shifts, sitting behind the till and attempting to read a book from the library (she’s a bit dyslexic, but it's nothing she can't manage)._

_Because Sally is willfully stubborn at the best of times, she knows that before such a thing could happen, she would want to get her GED. It would be sort of proving to herself that_ _yes, she could have made it back then_ _. There was a reason that there had been few objections when she had dropped out; no one really believed that she would have graduated anyway._

_Sally’s not dumb, but when stuck under a system that did its hardest to tell her she wasn't worth it unless she defined herself by her grades, she wasn’t very motivated to try. She was surrounded by people who made her feel inferior because she wasn’t so quick to understand everything taught. Back then, she felt that no matter what she did, she would never quite make the cut._

_However, self-acceptance has been forced into Sally from almost 3 years of being on her own, and she is able to believe in herself far more readily than her teenage self was able to. She understands she has faults, but she can see her strengths as well._

_Slowly, a hypothetical idea begins to stretch out in Sally’s mind, winding its way through her thoughts until it seems far more like a plan of action than a wishful dream._

**1999**

Aphrodite has Drew in March, right after the divorce is made official. She still gives the baby her father's surname, Tanaka, because she has already started a pattern with Silena that she might as well continue.

It's this sort of unusual pessimistic thinking that the community must get used to for a while - Aphrodite’s had three unsuccessful marriages in her short life, and she has reached her current breaking point for a while.

She swears off real relationships while she raises her daughters out of infancy - possibly forever, she thinks at that point - and Olympus is just the tiniest bit gloomier in the time that follows without optimistic Aphrodite constantly singing her praises of love.

As she makes that decision, Poseidon and Amphitrite initiate a messy divorce that divides the community. The end result is Amphitrite taking nearly-six-year-old Triton - Trent again, for the next bit of his life - to her sister’s house in Hawaii so that she can get back onto her feet, leaving Kym and Theseus with her ex-husband. He is left wrecked.

When summer rolls around, Poseidon decides that he needs to get away for a while. He promises his brothers in all but blood that he’ll be back before the year ends, entrusting his children to them until he returns. Autumn comes, then the New Year, then spring appears to take some of the chill off the San Francisco wind. He doesn’t return.

In late June, Laia is ready to pop at any point, and Hephaestus is anxiously checking both his beeper and his new cell phone of a despicable green color anytime he's not working on a car (and sometimes while he is). No one wants to end up like Poseidon did. Still, he worries it might not be enough, especially after the beeper blackout the year before.

If Hephaestus didn't love his shop so much, he knows he'd be the one to build a communication device far more reliable than anything that exists. However, he can't imagine life without the business he built from the ground up. It’s the world’s loss, maybe, but his gain.

He's closing up for the night when he hears a noise. He pushes the front door open and discovers on the ground a tuft of blonde hair. _Jake Mason_ the card tucked into the child’s blanket says, and Hephaestus wonders idly, as he buckles the baby into Charles’ carseat, why the card bothered telling him the surname.

When he and Laia, after half-heartedly looking for Jake’s parents and giving up because of how common Mason is as a surname, decide to keep the baby, they take him to the pediatrician for a checkup. It becomes apparent why Jake was left in Hephaestus’ care. Some parents just aren’t equipped to handle a disabled child.

_Well, we’re definitely keeping him now_ , Hephaestus thinks, though they probably would never have given him up in the first place. Their physical disabilities are different - Hephaestus’ obvious limp isn't anything close to CP but, rather, the remnants of a childhood car accident - but he's never going to let Jake Mason go through life alone. He and Laia wanted Charles to have a younger brother, anyway.

Nyssa is born soon after Hades helps the couple legally keep Jake, and the babies take to each other immediately. Laia coos over them as they clutch each other in their sleep. With these two new lives among them, the house seems far more vibrant than before.

The Castellan’s have their son, Luke, on December 21st, just as winter begins. May’s mental health has begun a sharp decline, and she wakes up one night, days after Luke’s birth, and declares that Luke will suffer a terrible fate in the future. Seeing the way she looks at their son in the coming months, Hermes begins to prepare himself for the worst. He hears divorce talk all over the neighborhood, and he vows to himself to never let it come to that.

A day later, Zeus and Hera have their third child, Thalia. She cries and cries unless she is being held by Artemis, who is made her godmother soon after.

_“You're perfect,” Sally exclaims, laughing. Poseidon pretends to flex, putting on the most faux-serious expression that he can._

_“I know I am,” he replies. Sally slaps his shoulder playfully. He pouts at her, not unlike a child, and rubs his shoulder, wincing. “You hit hard for someone so tiny.”_

_She laughs again. “Shut up… Vanity isn’t becoming.” The sand beneath their toes is cool to the touch as they walk hand-in-hand down the beach. It's nearing December, but the couple is in agreement that Montauk, despite its dilapidated state, is a national treasure all year round. They don't go into the water like they would in the summertime, but sometimes they spend a few minutes letting the surf wash over their feet, burying their toes in the sand._

_Sally knows that Poseidon is probably not the smartest decision she's ever made. He's about a decade older than her and has been married before. Hell, he's got children back in San Francisco, and one with his ex-wife in Hawaii._

_But something about Poseidon just intrigues her. Maybe it's the tortured look in his ocean-colored eyes, or the way his silhouette in the sunset makes him look like the Greek god he was named for. Maybe it's just the fact that he values her independence as something intrinsic to her being, something not many people do. He treats her like a queen, and she can't help but relish the attention he gives_ _her_ _, with all her insecurities, despite how different they are._

_She feels, despite the short time they've known each other, that this must be love._

**2000**

Aphrodite’s daughter from a one-night stand with a movie star is born on Valentine’s Day. She puts McLean on Piper’s birth certificate in keeping with her usual traditions. Silena, a very affectionate child, goes for a hug the moment she sees Piper, while Drew begins crying at the sight of her.

Surprisingly, when Tristan finds out that she's had his child, he asks to be able to see her. Aphrodite is too surprised to refuse. They sleep together a few more times before he moves on, but he does make time to see Piper whenever he can. Aphrodite soon finds herself with a good friend.

Clarisse is left on Ares’ doorstep in March with a note that says that she was born January 12th, and he's the father. It doesn't phase Ares as much as it probably should (beyond him vowing to remember to wear a condom next time he brings a stranger home). He surprises Olympus by proving that he can be a good dad, taking care of her so well that few - if any - have a complaint.

Jason Grace is born in a July storm, to the delight of Thalia. She's rather unlike many children of her age in that she giggles at the sound of thunder and the sight of lightning lighting up the sky. Jason sleeps serenely despite the sounds outside, his family watching their newest member in interest.

Athena - no nickname there - and Frederick Chase have their daughter Annabeth less than two weeks later. The neighborhood sees that Annabeth is a smart baby and jokes that she’ll be the next Genius Physicist Athena Chase. _She’ll be even greater than me_ , Athena thinks proudly.

Travis comes in late November to a happy May and Hermes. When they choose the name of the child, May _begs_ Hermes to make Travis’ last name her maiden name. Otherwise, something bad will happen. She just knows it.

Hermes hushes her and agrees. They bring Travis Stoll home a day later.

_Poseidon’s still awake when she gets to bed one night in early January. She hums to herself, and it's easy to tell that something good has happened. He puts his arms around her when she slides under the covers next to him._

_“What's got you so happy, Love?” he breathes into her ear. Sally giggles._

_Poseidon spends most of his time at her apartment instead of the hotel he's been staying at since he came to New York. He used to live here when he was younger, he's told her. That's why he knows all the sites like the back of his hand._

_She just picks one of his hands off of her shoulder and slides it down to her stomach. “I know you're Poseidon and all, but I was thinking Perseus because most of your kids don't end up that great.”_

_His eyes go wide. “You mean-”_

_“Yeah,” she replies. “I'm not quite sure what I want to call it if it turns out to be a girl, though. But I guess we can figure that out later.”_

_Poseidon continues to stare down out her belly, without saying a word. There's no congratulations, no freakout. Nothing._ _Well, that's not quite what she was expecting_ _._

_Sally returns his palms to her waist and says, “Well, I suppose it's a bit late to talk about it right now. Tomorrow morning, then.” There's a bad feeling in her gut that she tries to ignore, and she burrows herself further under her blankets, attempting to get comfortable. Hopefully, it will be gone after a good night's sleep._

_When Sally wakes up in the morning, her boyfriend is gone. His key is left on top of the headboard, and underneath it is a note with a single word written on it:_ _Sorry._

_She doesn't even bother with shedding a tear this time. The fantasy has ended, and she's back on her own again. She has more important things to worry about than to just lie around, wallowing in self-pity._

_She spends that morning scrubbing the entire house clean. Part of her wonders if she's trying to get Poseidon’s breezy smell out of the couch cushion. Her doctor berates her for inhaling the fumes while the baby grows within her stomach._

_Perseus Jackson is born prematurely on August 18th, and his mother swears to him, while she lies exhausted and alone on her hospital bed, that she'll make it so he's never on his own. She’ll always be there, protecting him, as long as he needs her to be._

**2001**

Hades and Persephone have what they decide is their final child on January 24th. True to Hades’ hope, they name him Nico, after Hades’ father. He’s curious about his new life, and the first time Hades holds him, he just stares at his father with wide eyes, taking in his surroundings.

Dior Vine - Dionysus, as he's nicknamed by May Castellan loudly at the neighborhood Welcome To The Block Block Party in February - and his wife Aria Vine have Pollux in May. Because the baby’s name is already taken from a myth, the new parents find themselves getting along extremely well with May.

In August, Athena gives birth to her second child, Malcolm Chase. While Annabeth wakes up crying from the sounds of her parents screaming at each other downstairs, Malcolm sleeps through every argument. Athena is glad for that, glad that her younger child isn't exposed to hardships even if he can't quite understand them yet.

Hades takes in a young cousin of his, Thaddeus, in November, who's immediately nicknamed Thanatos after May hisses to her husband about how unfortunate his name is. The eight-year-old is rather shy, but he easily makes friends with Hercules and Pan.

Soon after, Thanatos is introduced to his Uncle Poseidon, who has returned with apologies all around. He promises never to take off like that again and apologizes for not sending a postcard or something. They accept him back with open arms. However, there’s a distance between him and Theseus and Kym, something Poseidon regrets enormously but knows he probably can never truly mend.

With a girlfriend that leaves him soon after his son’s birth, Apollo has Will Solace. He smiles down at the baby with tired eyes because it's been a long few years, but at least he got something good out of it all in the end. _Three good things, actually_ , he’s quick to remember, when he sees the twins fighting over who gets to read Will bedtime stories each night.

Hermes’ sister goes to jail in November for the family business - stealing anything and everything they can get their hands on and rarely getting caught for it - and he's given custody of her infant son while she's behind bars because she'd rather have the brother she hasn't spoken to in twenty years take care of her kid than her bastard ex-boyfriend.

Everyone from the poor little town Hermes escaped knows he went straight after Juvy, and none of them ever expected to see him back. There's stares as he goes to pick little Chris Rodriguez up in his nice work suit and little family car. There's stares as he visits his sister (to let her know he’ll be there for Chris) and his prison-bound parents for good measure. His mother, Maya Castellan, cackles when she sees him, and demands to meet May, Pan, and Luke when she gets out. Hermes knows from experience that by the time Maya’s remaining five years are up, she’ll have forgotten her promise to be in his life again. He thanks her anyway, though.

In December, Poppy Gardner moves into Olympus with three-year-old Katie, two-year-old Miranda, and four-month-old Juniper accompanying her from her failed marriage. She's quickly accepted into the Ancient Greek fold and nicknamed Demeter for her background as a farm girl and her job as an agriculture inspector.

_Percy’s first birthday is spent at the beach, just the two of them making castles in the sand. Percy’s early learning to walk, and he's able to taunt the sea with his mother before running away (so the cold ocean waves can't catch them). Already, he knows where his most favorite spot in the world is._

_Sally bites her lip when she looks at him sometimes; he's a baby version of his father, with his tousled black hair and bright, sea green eyes. But Percy’s so full of life where Poseidon was distant and subdued. The elder man seemed to walk as though he had the weight of a mountain bearing down upon his back. Sally never wants Percy to look like that._

_He brings a vibrancy to her life that she can't exactly explain. She wasn't sure about motherhood, about keeping him, but when she watches the wonder he exudes as he takes in the world around him, she is determined to believe that she made the right choice. Percy is the light of Sally’s life. She's glad for him; she’s not as alone as she once was, and as long as he stays around, she never will be ever._

**2002**

In March, a good friend of Persephone’s, Marie Levesque, dies in childbirth. After grieving for quite a while, she begs Hades to take in the infant. He agrees, and soon, Hazel Levesque has become part of the family.

Aria gives birth to Castor Vine a month after Pollux’s first birthday. As the two are not quite familiar with Olympus’ ways, the neighborhood beyond a few friends doesn't find out about the birth until a few days afterwards. A small party is eventually thrown, with or without the parents authorizing it.

In August, Ares feels a sense of déjà vu when he opens the door at night after hearing a noise and sees a bundle of blankets on his doorstep. He picks up the baby, and as he rocks “Mark” to sleep, he internally wonders what the guards at the gate are doing to let random women into the community at this time of night, and what kind of a person would leave a baby out to face the night with just a blanket for protection.

At least Emily had called before shoving Frank onto him in February, and she had asked to see him when she could. He couldn't even blame the woman for giving him her baby; she was a soldier and was going back to Afghanistan soon enough, and after that night at her place, he knows exactly what her mother was like. No child should be subjected to that. Unknowingly, Ares parallels himself to Aphrodite in this regard: he has found a good friend in a former lover.

Athena kicks Frederick out in November, and divorce proceedings begin soon after. It is soon decided that Annabeth and Malcolm’s time is to be split evenly between them - two weeks each - with the parameters changing when they enter school.

When Connor is born in December, again, May demands that he be given her maiden name. Again, Hermes agrees. They can see that, even though he is just newly born, Connor Stoll is just a smaller version of his elder brother; everything down to the tiniest of details is the same.

_Percy’s a chatterbox, that much is for certain. Half the time, Sally can't make out what exactly his baby babble is, what he's trying to say, but he's constantly talking about something or the other. Sometimes, he’ll announce, “Milk please.” On occasions like those in which he's somewhat coherent, after he has his bottle, Sally will take a small chocolate square and set it on his tongue to dissolve._

_She thinks she's getting good at this whole being-a-mother-business. She still gets looks on the Subway when she pulls Percy’s stroller in with her or when she takes a walk with him in the park, but Sally ignores them easily. She's nearly 25, not so young anymore. And even if she was, Sally’s learned to ignore people’s opinions by now and focus on the ones that should matter to her the most (her own)._

_Percy comes everywhere with her because she doesn't have enough to hire a sitter whenever she would be out if she's trying to save up for Percy’s future preschool fees. And, if she's being honest with herself, Sally is just too afraid to be away from him for too long. They call it separation anxiety in the books she's checked out from the library, and apparently it's a thing that new mothers experience a lot._

_The old lady who owns at Sweet On America is a darling to the child. She has been taken with Percy since the first time she saw him, and she's fine with Sally bringing him to work until she can send him to school. It gives her time to play with Percy in the back room while Sally is on the job. The first time Percy calls her “Gramma Ruth,” her eyes go wide and she squeals a note rather strange for her old age, and Sally inwardly grins. Her child’s cuteness does most of the work for her nowadays._

**2003**

Laia gives birth to Shane Beckendorf in September. The two parents decide that, though he looks like a child-Hephaestus, he's got his mother's eyes, and they laugh about it to themselves.

Cecil Castellan is born in November. May’s pregnancy with him is a surprise. She has been on medication for two months, and Hermes is worried now because she has to be off of it for the duration of the pregnancy. It's a long nine months, but May seems very lucid when she gives birth to their youngest son. She doesn't beg anything of Hermes, just smiling down at her child, as though she can see nothing but pure happiness in his future.

Amphitrite moves back into Olympus with promises between her husband and her to try to make it work. It's been three years, but they've missed each other sorely. Everyone’s invited to their wedding next summer, on a white, sandy shoreline down south. Triton’s last name is now Irving, his mother’s maiden name, and though his parents are getting married again, he decides not to change it. As much as he loves his father, he's seen the way his mother has fallen apart in the last three years and can't ever forget that.

Artemis decides that she wants some company, and adopts a child. She is enchanted by Zoë Nightshade the first time she sees her, startled and amused by the girl’s dry intelligence for one so young, and the six-year-old girl comes to absolutely adore her. Artemis finds herself falling in love with motherhood, and later, as they read stories about medieval heroes and change the story so that the princess saves herself, she asks Zoë how she would feel about her taking in another girl (no boys after what they both have been through). She gets an emphatic yes.

_Sally tries to convince herself that she's not crying the first time she sends Percy to preschool. However, no matter how valiant her efforts are, she can't deny the waterworks when Percy tugs on her pant leg and assures her, “Mommy, I'll be good. Don’ worry.”_

_They've spent so much time getting ready for this moment. Potty training was a nightmare that Sally doesn't ever want to repeat. She’s sure he can do it, but she's still worried about him. They've never been apart for this long before._

_She's proud as her brave boy marches into the room, walking up to some poor kid and roughly demanding that they be best friends. The little boy, for his part, grins sweetly in response, nodding in affirmation. Percy then turns around and sends her a quick thumbs up, and she replies with one of her own._

_Percy’s caretaker, a brunette woman with a pretty smile, looks between Sally and her child and lets out a small laugh. “We’ll take good care of him, Mom. He’ll be just fine.”_

_When Sally returns to pick him up, he's jabbering on and on about what he did that day, who met and what he saw. He hands her a picture he drew of a blob with legs and proudly declares that it's a horse._

_“So, you had fun then?” she asks as they walk back to the apartment._

_“I telled you I'm good, Mommy!” he replies with a bright grin that always sets Sally’s heart at ease. Her little boy is growing up so well._

_Soon, she’ll be sending him off to school, and one day he’ll be embarrassed as he brings home his first girlfriend, and someday Sally will be the one to teach him how to drive, and eventually she’ll be clapping as he throws his graduation cap up in the air. He’ll be phoning her from his college dorm somewhere in the middle of the night to tell her he’s missing her. He’ll be a young adult who stops by as often as possible under the excuse that he wants to eat her cooking. Far in the future, Sally will be old and grey and happy, and she’ll be watching her son walk down the aisle._

_The thought of Percy growing up somehow makes her sad deep inside._

_He comes into her bedroom that night and mumbles softly, “Mommy, can I sleep with you?” Immediately, she picks him up and sets him on the bed, sliding one arm around his shoulders to hold him close._

_As she clutches the small form of her son, she whispers, “I don't want to let you go.”_

**2004**

Frederick meets Cassidy at a New Year's Eve party filled with other West Point scholars and marries her within months. Annabeth and Malcolm sit quietly at the wedding, despite their young ages, watching as their father kisses a woman that is not their mother. Athena picks her children up from the venue and brings them back to Olympus, where she cries as she rocks them gently in her arms.

It's April, and this time, an old flame of Ares’ shows up on his doorstep _along with_ her kid. By this point, he knows that some of his children are probably not actually his, but he can't bring himself to turn the woman away. He's easy to blame, he knows, and he's pretty sure that he would blame himself too.

He writes about Sherman La Rue in his letter to Emily, and he knows that she'll mock him endlessly, when she gets back from her latest tour, for being so nice to a terrible woman who essentially just threw her baby at him.

In July, everyone heads down to a nice little beach near LA to watch their friends get married again. Three-year-old Hazel, the youngest of the bunch who can walk well enough, is the flower girl. Poseidon picks up Amphitrite’s veil and swears to her that she's just as beautiful to him as she was the first time around. The friends all have fun confusing the priest with the mythological names.

When the school year starts, Laia and Hephaestus are summoned down to the principal’s office of the elementary school because Nyssa punched another kindergartner in the nose for making fun of Jake’s balance issues and somewhat slurred speech. Laia berates her daughter for using violence to solve her problems as Hephaestus gives her a thumbs up from behind the woman’s back.

Still, though he projects the image of being fine with the situation, Hephaestus is up past midnight, tinkering with equipment in the garage to keep distract himself from worrying. It takes him back to the days of having his crutch kicked out from under him so often that he stopped using it. He becomes tired from several sleepless nights, and his wife purses her lips at him whenever she sees him, worried but unsure of how to fix the situation.

It doesn’t get better until two weeks into the school year, when Laia lets Jake and Nyssa invite over their classmates for a sleepover. They end up with a full house, as Thalia Grace, Drew Tanaka, Travis Stoll (and consequently Connor Stoll), and Luke Castellan show up on their doorstep at 6PM. Hephaestus feels himself inwardly relaxing as he watches Jake dominate the conversation, having fun with his friends, unafraid and proud of who he is.

Artemis gets Phoebe Hunter (now Phoebe Hunter-Solace) who fits right into the little makeshift Solace family. She's a year younger than Zoë and looks up to the girl in a way that Artemis teases the elder about, making Zoë blush. She imagines that the girl has never been a big sister before, and when she broaches the subject, Zoë tells her that she had six big sisters that were never nice to her, and she wants to be better than them. Artemis hugs her for a long time after that.

_Percy’s a hyperactive child, full of energy and joy. He’s prone to accidents and messes and spills, but that doesn’t make him any less observant._

_Children know far more than they let on._

_Sometimes, Percy has nightmares about anything from large dogs to scary clowns (Sally realizes now that taking him to the circus was probably a mistake). He’ll wander to his mom’s room - quietly, the house is asleep and he doesn’t want to wake it - and she’ll be staring out her window, the one that faces the city._

_It’ll seem like she’s not moving, pensive, lost in thought. Maybe she’s dreaming with her eyes wide open. But Percy can see the slight shudder of her shoulders, the soft heaving of her chest. He can hear the slightly muffled whimpers that unwillingly escape her throat._

_It’s on nights like these that, even at age four, Percy knows that he’s going to be strong and protect his mom from the world._

_\--_

_It’s a blustery October night in the city, and the wind beating against his window pane is just enough to keep Percy up long past midnight. He slowly makes his way to Sally’s room, tiptoeing in and peeking inside. She’s still awake as well._

_Sally sees him - senses him, maybe - before he can even take a step backwards and return to his own bed. She reaches for him, both arms outstretched, and Percy gladly catapults onto her comforter, crawling towards his mother’s lithe frame. She gives him a hug._

_Percy looks her in the eyes._ _She’s not sad tonight._

_“Mommy, what’s your smile for?” he asks. She can’t hide anything from him, not ever._

_“For you, of course,” she replies. “I’m always happy to see my baby boy.”_

_Percy knows there’s more to it. He aims for his best unconvinced expression, screwing his eyes together, a pout blossoming on his tiny features._

_“Percy,” Sally says, a tinge of uncertainty to her voice. “There’s a man Mommy wants you to meet. I’m seeing him tomorrow, and I want you to come with me.”_

_Percy tilts his head in confusion. The only adults he’s ever met are his preschool teachers and Jim and the old lady at the candy shop. He asks, “What’s he like?”_

_The smile grows on his mom’s face, and he already knows he’ll go with her. “He’s… nice. He’s really funny, so I think you’ll like that. He’s got a name like an angel, and he’s really interested in meeting you. I hope you guys will get along.”_

_\--_

_They go to the zoo and Gabriel - “Call me Gabe, Perce.” - buys him ice cream, so Percy thinks he’s pretty cool._

**2005**

Frederick and Cassidy are proud parents of Matthew Chase as of September. Annabeth watches quietly from the doorway as the coo over their baby boy before ushering Malcolm back into the hospital lobby for fear of ruining the happy moment.

Apollo decides to foster a kid because he's heard Artemis’ rants about the system often enough, and he eventually ends up with Michael Yew. Michael’s a quiet eight-year-old and, though he definitely does not get along with Clarisse La Rue after that one time he was asked to babysit at Ares’ place, there's no real problem.

_Gabe and Sally get married around November. Jim and the old lady come on Sally’s side, while Gabe’s buddy Eddie is his best man, and his friends David and Chuck are there too. Percy gets to be the ring bearer._

_Gabe’s like Sally in that he has no other family to invite to the wedding. The day’s nice in general, but it’s marred by a few things:_

_The old lady and Jim leave right after Sally and Gabe are legally wed, so Dave, Chuck, and Eddie use it as a chance to get wasted and trash the tiny chapel they’ve rented out for a few hours. Sally’s upset, especially when she has to go apologize to the priest for their behavior. Gabe laughs it off, though._

_Gabe and Sally get into a day-and-a-half long argument over the fact that Sally wants to keep her last name._ _“Jackson” ties her to her family_ _, she defends. They eventually compromise, and Percy finds himself a week later being shunted off to the courthouse so that he can become Perseus Ugliano. He avoids his mom for the rest of the day. She eventually sits him down and explains to him that Gabe’s just a little “traditional.” Percy doesn’t really understand what that means, but it’s the first fracture in his relationship with his “new dad.”_

_Sally also gets into a fight with Gabe the night of the wedding when he reveals that he’s bought tickets for a weekend getaway for their honeymoon._ _Who’s going to watch her baby boy?_ _is her main concern._ _Their baby boy_ _, Gabe reminds her. He remarks offhandedly that Eddie will keep track of him. Sally eyes the drunken man, unamused. She eventually relents, however. Eddie, Dave, and Chuck trash Sally’s apartment and make Percy clean it up._

_Within a month, Gabe has them moved into_ _his _ _more expensive apartment. They have a car, a Camaro, for the first time in Percy’s life. He’s not allowed to touch it._

**2006**

Christopher Beckendorf comes a week late, in October. Laia laments the fact that he was not born on Halloween, as an excuse to eat loads of candy in the future. When they return home, seeing the mess the children created while their babysitter slept, Hephaestus decides that he’ll build a sturdy indoor security camera to watch the house, after he buys new curtains to replace the ones Charles seems to have set on fire.

Lee Fletcher is nine, nearly ten, when he is taken in by Apollo. He's surprised to find that he's not the only foster kid around, and he and Michael bond rather quickly. Neither of them are as fast to get along with Austin, Kayla, and Will, but Apollo knows enough by now to know that he must give it time. Will, for his part, is delighted to have two more older siblings in such a short time.

Over winter break, Isabella Ramirez - who's immediately dubbed Bellona despite it being the name of a Roman goddess - and her daughters Reyna and Hylla move in. She's strict, but she explains to her neighbors that she had a military upbringing, and it's all she knows. _So did my husband_ , she explains with distaste, _That's how we met_. All anyone really knows is that Bellona never wants to see Julian again, for her children’s sake.

Seven-year-old Hylla quickly asserts her position as Queen of the playground, while Reyna meets Jason Grace, and he decides to make her his new best friend. _There’s another girl named Piper_ , Reyna explains softly to her mother while setting the dinner table. _I don't think she likes me that much because Jason does_. Bellona smiles at her warmly, noticing the blush on her face as she speaks the little boy’s name, and tells her to try to make friends with Piper anyway.

She comes home the next day and exuberantly announces that all three kids are best friends now. Her mother tousles her long brown hair, congratulating her, before reminding her to use her inside voice.

_In mid-March, Sally gets a call at work. She rushes to Percy’s elementary school, out of breath by the time she reaches there. Gabriel has the Camaro at work with him, but she’d rather not ask him to pick up his son because he’s not exactly good at that sort of thing._

_The principal explains it to her, idly stirring the mug of coffee on her desk. “Perseus got into a fight with another first-grader. We can’t really ascertain the causes of it, but what we do know is that Percy gave the other child cuts and bruises and seemingly threw the first punch. Therefore, we are suspending your son for the rest of the week.”_

_She doesn’t give Sally much of a chance to get a question in, but what Sally does gather is that the other boy in the fight would not be forced not to come back to school. Call Sally biased, but she knows from experience that such things don’t happen, especially this young, unless there was some sort of instigation from the other boy. Still, she forces her eyes away from the smug blues of the principal and agrees._

_Percy explains, ashamedly, as she walks him home, “He called me names. He said that my real daddy didn’t love me enough to stay around. That’s why you had to marry Sm- Gabe.” Sally resists the urge to go back to the school and teach the little twerp a lesson. She can imagine what sort of things he said, what sort of words his idiotic parents must have been saying for him to repeat on the playground._

_“Percy, you’ve got a family that loves you,” she says. “You’ve got me, and you’ve got your new daddy. You know that.”_

_He avoids her searching eyes. “Yeah, I guess.”_

_“Just because that boy said mean things to you, doesn’t mean you can hurt him like that,” she reprimands sternly. “That won’t solve any sort of problem. I don’t want to ever have to get another call like this again, young man.”_

_Percy hangs his head. “Yes, Mommy.”_

_She sets a hand on his shoulder, comfortingly, and he winces. Immediately, she drops down, pulling his shirt back to see an ugly purple bruise marring his right arm._

_“Did that boy do this to you?” she demands. He sighs._

_“That’s not from the fight, Mommy.”_

**2007**

Bobby Chase is born while Annabeth and Malcolm are at their mother’s. Athena tries to take her children’s minds off of the fact that they have a new baby brother and won't meet him for a week, but she gets an important call and leaves them to eat their dinners by themselves. Annabeth develops a knack for storytelling, able to do all the funny voices just right as she reads books aloud to Malcolm at night.

In June, Helena Hearth moves to Olympus. She’s not very social, but those who know her fall in love with her quiet, strong charm. She doesn’t have any family left in the world, and when the Castellan’s hear this they begin inviting her over as often as they can.

May tells her that the name “Hestia” could be worn by no other. Hestia accepts it with a slight smile. Hermes is ever-grateful for the way she brings May back every time she runs away.

In August, the neighborhood is awoken by the excited shouting of Nico, Bianca, and Hazel. Those who investigate come outside to find a large, black rottweiler being dragged around by the di Angelo kids. Even Thanatos, Mellie, and Maka get in on the fun. Bianca proudly announces to all of her friends who have come to meet the dog that his name is Cerberus. Triton, Kym, and Theseus glare at their parents as they gawk at the di Angelo’s in envy. All they’re allowed is a fishtank.

At dinnertime one night in December, the phone starts ringing in the Beckendorf household. _My mom told me that if anything happened, I should call my father._ It takes three days of begging, swearing oaths on his life, and sleeping on the couch to convince Laia that Leo isn't his.

Despite it all, his wife is rather reluctant to take Leo in until she sees him for the first time. He's still the small child that Hephaestus remembers seeing once, years ago, a mop of curly hair plastered onto his head and too-large brown eyes set on his face that seemed to stare into one’s soul. His aunt is only too happy to sign over her legal right to the _Diablo_ , as she calls him, and Hephaestus makes a vow to himself that he’ll never let Leo see that terrible woman again.

It's hard at first to wrap his head around the fact that Esperanza Valdez - a woman who was like a sister to him throughout his life - is gone, burned down in a fire that her sister blames on her son. But when Hephaestus looks at Leo, he thinks that part of her spirit lived on in her child. He can understand why Esperanza told Leo that he was the father, and though he sits Leo down and explains to him that someone else got his mother pregnant, he also swears on his auto shop to be the father Leo never got.

For the second time in their lives, Hades works some of his lawyer magic for the Beckendorf’s, and Leo is theirs by the New Year.

_“Percy! It’s time for dinner!” Sally calls from the kitchen._

_“One second, Mommy!” Percy yells back._

_He’s standing on a stepping stool in the bathroom, eyeing a bruise under in his shirt. He’s manage to decode, according to the library book in front of him, that he needs to soak a washcloth in warm water and then apply it to the bruise. It took a little longer to understand because he’s dyslexic. Luckily, the book has pictures._

_He got this one a couple of days ago, but it still burns when he pokes it. He touches the rag to his stomach and nearly falls over because it hurts so much._

_The door opens a crack. Percy jumps, slamming the book shut, and tossing the cloth into the trash by the sink. Then he stops because it’s just Smelly Gabe._

_“Ouch,” Gabe growls, but there’s something mocking to his voice. “That looks like it hurts. You gotta be more careful where you walk, boy.”_

_Percy glares at him, purposely shoving him into the doorframe as he walks past. Gabe shoves him back, but because the man is far older and larger, Percy hits the hallway wall none-too-gently._

_Sally peaks her head out from the kitchen. “Boys…” she says threateningly. “Don’t fight.”_

_Gabe grabs Percy, putting him in a headlock that looks a lot looser than it actually is. “S’ok, Sal’,” he replies. “Perce and I are just messin’ around.”_

_Sally looks between them, pursing her lips, but doesn’t say anything more._

**2008**

Ares checks his mail in February and his heart stops for a moment. He pulls Frank out of school for the day. _Emily’s coming home_ . The La Rue’s take a small vacation to LA (Disneyland never fails to cheer anyone up) to get their minds off of it after the military funeral. Frank asks, tentatively, if he can change his surname to Zhang to honor his mother's memory, and though Ares’ heart breaks a bit at that, he can't just _not_ agree. Frank spends part of his summer in Canada with his mother’s mother - who had moved there from Florida when she was in her 50’s - and when he comes back, he makes Ares swear to never make him go through that again. Ares is only too happy to agree.

In the August heat, Aphrodite gives birth to twins Mitchell and Lacy. Drew still hasn't grown out of hating having new siblings, and she walks out of the room the moment her mother comes home with two bundles in her arms. Silena is the opposite, running towards her mother, clamoring to carry both at the same time. Piper is torn between her sisters, but inevitably settles at following the eldest. She smiles kindly at Mitchell as she holds him, and Aphrodite's heart soars.

No one knows who the father is, and people are surprised when Aphrodite decides to go with Swan as her newest children’s last name, rather than whatever their birth father’s was. She's not usually one to hide this sort of thing; she's proud of herself, a successful fashion designer, and she's proud of her life and her children. It's easy to miss, but Aphrodite and Ares rarely stand in the same room anymore.

Leo comes home happily when the new school year starts, clamoring about the new friends he's made. He's come out of his shell quite a lot since being adopted by the Beckendorf’s, showing his true colors as a hyperactive, severely ADHD mischief maker. They family had been worried about this day for months: worried about Leo's learning needs, worried that he'll get bullied for his southern accent and scrawniness, worried about whether or not he’ll make friends.

It seems, as Leo crows about his new best friends Piper and Jason and that cute but scary girl Reyna, their fears were unneeded.

In another house in the neighborhood, Piper clambers onto her mom’s lap for Aphrodite to brush her thick, brown hair before bed. She asks her mom innocently whether it's possible for her to like two boys at the same time. Aphrodite smiles sadly, not that Piper can tell, and tells her it definitely is. She pinches Piper’s cheek and tells her that she's going to be a heartbreaker when she gets older, and warns her not to get her own heart broken in the process.

In yet another house, the Grace family is having a late supper, having waited for Helen to get home for as long as they could, and Jason - the sweet, shy, polite one - quietly announces that he's bisexual. Zeus coughs, choking on his casserole, while his mother gives him a _That's nice, dear._ Sixteen-year-old Hercules starts laughing, croaking out a _Shit, me too_ between snickers. Then, he is reprimanded by Hera for using such language at the table.

Zeus cautiously asks his younger son where he learned the word, to which Hercules raises his hand. _Guilty_ , he announces, trying to control his cackling. Nine-year-old Thalia chooses that moment to ask, with that dry, even tone of her mother’s and Helen’s that she has learned to mimic, whether or not this is the time to mention that she's dating Phoebe Hunter-Solace, Artemis’ adoptive daughter.

Zeus has recovered by this point to offer a tentative congratulations to his _nine-year-old daughter_ , to which she replies that he only ever told her no _boys_ until college. Zeus sighs, Hera tells them to finish the food on their plate, and Helen comes home from what her parents are now thinking might not have been Drama Club (she was with her boyfriend, Austin Solace, at a back-to-school party, and left early because Kym Attwater’s annoying little brother - whom Kym was stuck babysitting for the night - kept hitting on her, but her parents don't need to know that).

She heads up to her room and slams the door without a word (because teenage angst), and Hera yells up that she's grounded, as though Helen doesn't know every possible way to sneak out of the house (there's a better party this Friday, and there’s no way her parent’s would _ever_ be able to stop her from going).

_Percy waits nervously outside the classroom. He really likes Ms. Thetis, but being called in after class doesn’t usually mean anything good for him._

_He tries to calm his nerves. Ms. Thetis_ _gets _ _him. She was the one that encouraged Sally to put him into a sport - swimming - to quell his constant nervous energy, and she takes extra time to help him through some harder reading because of his dyslexia. He actually thinks he’s been doing better in school; this probably isn’t anything that bad._

_“Percy, come in,” Ms. Thetis calls from her desk. He slowly pushes open the door, walking into the room._

_He can tell there’s something wrong. Usually Ms. Thetis is smiling when she sees him, but this time she’s staring down at her desk, hard._

_“Come here,” she says. There’s a strange edge to her voice. Percy gulps, moving to where she’s sitting._

_She pushes some papers towards him. He stares down at them, trying to make out the words on the page. It’s his last math test. He got a 4 out of 30!?_

_“What does this look like, Percy?” Percy slowly raises his head to look her in the eyes. She’s glaring._

_“M-My last math test?” he said. “I didn’t-I didn’t think -”_

_“You didn’t think what?” she demands. “That you’d do this poorly? Because I didn’t either. I’ve actually been trying to help you. Did you even study?”_

_“I did, but -”_ _It’s hard_ _, he wants to say,_ _with Smelly Gabe and his poker buddies making so much noise and making me make them food_ _. But he can’t get the words out._

_“But what? Either you did, or you didn’t. And I don’t think you did!”_

_“I’m-I’m sorry, Ms. Thetis,” he begins. She cuts him off roughly._

_“Honestly, Percy, I’m starting to think I was wrong about you. I was sure that you had potential that your other teachers couldn’t tap into. But you’re proving me wrong with scores like these. You’re telling me that you’re just as dumb as they say you are.”_

_Percy is dumbfounded. He really, really thought that he had done well on that test. He doesn’t say a word, just looks away in shame._

_“Come back tomorrow, and be ready to actually learn.” He takes the dismissal in silence._

_\--_

_By Friday, Ms. Thetis is gone. When he can finally bring himself to ask his mother what happened, she explains gently that Ms. Thetis’ son got sent to a better place, and so now she’s gone down to her family in Louisiana to be with them for a while._

_“I’m sorry,” she says. “I know how much you liked her.”_

_Percy replies, “I did.”_

**2009**

Harley Beckendorf comes in April, and with just one look at him, his parents know that he's going to be just as much of a troublemaker as his siblings. Thankfully, when Hephaestus and Laia return home, the house is spotless. It seems that the mounted homemade security camera on the wall has managed to scare the kids into being good. However, from the vengeful look Jake and Charles send at Hephaestus’ favorite invention, he knows that they're well on their way to coming home and finding it dismantled. After all, they _are_ his kids.

It's a week before Luke’s 10th birthday that the situation with May comes to a head. She goes at Cecil with a knife, believing her son to be something evil, and in defending his younger brother, Luke acquires a long slash of red down his face. Hermes discovers that she's been off her medication for a while, secretly discarding the pills when no one was looking. And as much as Hermes loves his wife - he'd die for her, he knows that much - he has to do what is best for his sons. And if that means sending their mother away, he'll do it.

Hermes knows he never did anything good enough to deserve Luke in his life when the boy tackles him in a hug and begs him not to tell Pan, Chris, Connor, or Travis that it was their mother who gave him his scar. He sees him later, while he's on the phone with a director of a mental health clinic, comforting Cecil, telling him that his mother never meant to hurt him. Only Hermes and Luke go to drop off May at the facility on the other side of the city, Pan staying behind to watch the others. The Castellan’s have family sleepovers in the living room for the next few nights.

_“Anything interesting happen recently, Percy?” Percy gulps, quickly making his face blank._

_“Nothing, Mom,” he replies. The corners of Sally’s lips quirk, and a cold sweat runs down his spine._ _She couldn’t know, could she?_

_“Are you suuuuure?” she asks teasingly. “Didn’t get a cool project… or have a hard test… Or…” She pauses for a second. “_ _Maaaaaybe_ _, make a new friend?”_

_Percy ducks his head, trying to hide his expression. “Nope.” His voice comes out at higher pitch than he initially intended. “I’m going to my room now.”_

_“Well, I_ _suppose _ _then I’ll have to tell Little Miss Rachel that her ‘bestest friend in the whole wide world’ doesn’t actually live here.” Percy’s face lights up red as his mom laughs._

_She tosses him the landline that she had hidden behind her back. “Go. Talk. But remember, you’re never going to be able to hide things from me.” She winks at him before going back into the kitchen to make Gabe’s favorite seven-layer bean dip before he gets home from work. It’s poker night tonight._

_Percy quickly retreats into his small blue bedroom. He’s pretty sure it’s actually a closet that Gabe shoved a bed and a desk into. He collapses onto the starfish-patterned comforter._

_“Red,” he hisses into the phone. “I told you not to call my house.” He gets a groan in response._

_“But Peeeeercy, I want to come over to play at_ _some _ _point.” Percy frowns at that._

_“Not happening. Never.” He can practically hear her pout through the phone._

_“But wh -”_

_“No, Red.” He hears an_ _ooph!  _ _and assumes that she’s in the same position as he’s in, spread-eagle on her back, staring at the ceiling. “I’ve got reasons.”_

_“What reasons?” she demands. The pampered rich girl in her is shining through. He thinks of pointing it out, but he knows she’ll probably punch him on Monday if he does._

_Percy considers his answers before taking a deep, steadying breath. “Well, ya know how you don’t want me to see your parents…” He trails off. Mr. and Mrs. Dare are a whole ‘nother type of bad._

_“Yeah, because they suck,” she affirms. “But Sally seems like such a cool mom. What’s the problem there?”_

_“You haven’t met my step-dad,” he replies._

_“Ohhh…” she says, though she doesn’t wholly get it. “What’s wrong with him?”_

_Percy closes his eyes. “I don’t really want to… talk about it now.” He waits a few seconds, hearing nothing over the line, and hopes that she’ll drop it._

_Finally, “‘Kay, later then.” He lets out a sigh of relief._

_Rachel inevitably steers the conversation far, far away from the original subject matter, as she is often prone to do, and Percy finds himself enthralled into her vivid storytelling, losing track of the time as he listens._

_\--_

_A knock on the door shocks Percy out of his stupor. He’d been mindlessly throwing an old baseball at the ceiling since he’d finished talked to Rachel (there was a long shouting match between her and the maid before the abrupt sound of him being hung up on)._

_“Come in!” he calls. His mother pushes open the door, and in with her comes a plate of leftover chips and dip._

_“Sorry, honey,” she says. “I didn’t want to disturb you while you were talking to your friend.” She hands him the tray and he mumbles a thank you in between stuffing his face with food._

_She sits on the edge of his bed, absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair. “Rachel Dare, is it? From the way she talked to me, she seemed like such a sweet girl -” Percy nearly chokes on a mouthful of bean dip at that “- and I really wish you told me that you’d finally made a friend at school Percy. I know how hard these past few years have been for you.”_

_Percy feels ashamed. “‘m sorry,” he mumbles. “I just-I knew that if I told you you’d be so excited, and I’d have to bring her by the house, and she’d have to -”_ _She’d have to meet Gabe_ _is what he wants to say, but he doesn’t finish the thought._

_Sally just sighs._

_“You know, sweetheart, your step-father loves_ _us_ _. He just… finds it a little harder to show it, sometimes.” Percy tries not to wince at the way she says the word “us.”_

_“Sal’!” comes a call from the dining room. “Get that fine ass back in here! The punk’s fine on his own!” Sally sighs again, a little deeper this time. She kisses her son on the forehead, promising to come back soon with more food, and goes out to meet her drunken husband and his friends._

_\--_

_Percy wakes up just before dawn because he hears Sally crying outside his door again, but he doesn’t go out to meet her. Instead he waits. Sure enough, a few minutes later, he hears lumbering steps down the hallway, stopping around where he assumes his sniffling mother is._

_“Sorry, baby,” Gabe murmurs. “You know I didn’t mean it.”_

_“You never do,” she whispers back. But Percy hears her stand, the hallway floor creaking at the motion, and he listens silently as she follows his step-father back to bed._

**2010**

The Underwood’s and the Hedge’s, a family of five adults and four children, move to Olympus in March. While all the adults are all charming in their own ways, Mellie Hedge quickly becomes a favorite in the neighborhood for her sweet disposition and how quickly she is to go by ‘Mell’ when she meets the younger Mellie. Ares is delighted when he hears that four-month-old Chuck Hedge is named after Chuck Norris, and he and Gleeson quickly bond over their shared love of actions movies and MMA.

Grover is a bit scrawnier than the rest of his family, and the younger generation are quick to take him under their wing. He walks with crutches, so at the first chance he gets, Leo introduces him to his family. He's fairly intimidated by Hephaestus and Jake, but he thanks Leo later, privately.

All of the Underwoods are nature lovers, so it's no secret that Grover, his older brother Lysas, and his younger cousin Sam idolize Pan Castellan for the nationally-recognized Green Club he built from the ground up. It's also becomes increasingly obvious - to a hilarious degree for his friends - that Grover blushes whenever he is even remotely near Juniper Gardner.

Artemis adopts six-year-old Celyn Quinn in May. Phoebe and Zoë stare at her a lot, unused to being around a child so young for so often. They make great elder sisters, though, and Artemis finds herself more and more glad that they are in her life each day.

_The TV crackles some old movie that Gabe, Eddie, Dave, Chuck, and Gabe’s “grief counselor” Sugar (who he’d been seeing since before the proceedings even started), are just drunk enough to watch._

_Percy sneaks out of his room as quietly as possible. He can’t stand being in this apartment for any longer; he needs to_ _leave. _ _Now._

_It’s the creaky hallway that gets him before he can go very far. “Where do you think you’re going, punk?” growls his step-father from the couch in the living room area. “C’mere.”_

_Percy grits his teeth. He walks to the doorway of Gabe’s so-called “man cave.” The once spotless area is now covered in empty pizza boxes, dirty food wrapper, and broken bottles of alcohol._

_“I was going out,” he mutters, repeating it a little louder when Gabe cocks his head mockingly._

_“Well, you’re not anymore!” the older man announces, cackling. “Go make me some dip.” Percy glares at him, folding his arms rebelliously and stiffening his body. He doesn’t move._

_Gabe lets out a warning growl. His hands clench themselves into dangerous-looking fists. “Go. Shoo.”_

_Percy closes his eyes, counting to ten in the way Sally told him to. Then, he turns on his heel, marching to the kitchen. He doesn’t bother telling Gabe that he doesn’t know any of his mother’s recipes. It won’t change the outcome, anyway._

_He hears Sugar coo to his step-father about how_ _precious _ _he is as he gathers whatever ingredients he can remember and throws them into a pot._

_The characters of the movie begin singing some song._

_“Ding-dong, the bitch is gone!” Eddie drunkenly slurs along._

**2011**

The Dare’s buy up a house that's been on sale for a couple months in July. They moved from New York, just like Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades did over twenty years previously. However, unlike the brothers, it's quickly decided that William and Priscilla are about as unlikeable as the previous residents of their new home, and they are rarely invited anywhere by the Olympian families, which seems to suit them just fine.

Their only saving graces are their daughters, Ella and Rachel. The entire community is in consensus that the infant Ella is a sweetheart. On the other hand, Rachel is a redheaded spitfire who quickly falls in with Annabeth and Reyna, despite their differences. She's an artist, and everyone knows that after the way the art teachers rave about her portfolio at school, she's set to win any of the upcoming competitions easily. She also cares very strongly about the environment, getting her in the good graces of the Underwood’s and Pan, who comes back from university to visit quite often.

The main gossip about Rachel is that the eleven-year-old left her best friend (or is it boyfriend?) behind in the Big Apple, and she's sad because she doesn't think she’ll ever see him again. She doesn't explain it, but she tells people that there's no point in sending letters or emails, or calling or texting, because he'll never be able to reply.

Along with Rachel, there's another new girl named Calypso in town. No one quite likes her father, but people get along with the girl herself just fine. Specifically, Leo is head-over-heels in love with her from the first time they meet, as he is with any pretty girl he sees. It took him only a few months to get over Reyna, so, like the rest of Olympus, Piper and Jason assume it will pass soon enough. It doesn't.

_Poker games have been moved to the backroom of Gabe’s appliance store as an after-hours attraction after the man had decided that there was no real reason to bring everyone to his apartment. There are far more players now, weekday alcoholics and wannabe-gangsters who decide to risk all their money on the off-chance the game isn’t rigged._

_Percy sits in a corner, watching as people lose their fortunes. He rolls his eyes at someone who aims a punch at his step-father. The man’s immediately knocked out by Gabe’s fists of steel. He supposes that someone will probably have to call an ambulance eventually, after dragging the man’s body away from the scene. He’d like not to think about it, though, because he knows it’ll probably end up being him._

_“Yo, Perce!” A man sits down across from him. “How about a game? We can bet on bottle caps if you don’t got the cash.”_

_“Two-person poker’s kinda boring, Liam,” Percy replies. The man grins in response, tugging at a nearby arm. Percy nearly groans at the familiar girlish squeal of surprise._

_“Sugar here’ll play too, then.” The tall blonde regains her bearings before nodding affirmatively. She reaches a hand down and pinches his right cheek._

_“I’d love to, doll,” she says with a wink. She pulls up a chair to the table, dragging it noisily across the floorboards. “Alright,” she announces when she’s seating. “Who’s gonna deal?”_

_Liam raises his hand. “I volunteer,” he says._

_If Percy’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t actually mind either of them that much. Sugar’s a little over-exuberant, but she’s nice and takes Gabe’s attention off of him for the most part. Liam is the one who originally taught him how to play._

_Percy eyes his cards with a blank expression - far better than when he initially started playing - and part of him drifts off in thought. He has a good enough hand to be on auto-pilot for now._

_He doesn’t really understand why Liam would ever be friends with Gabe. Sugar, he gets - she’s announced time and again how she’d do nearly anything to have money in her hands - and no one can quite fault her for it. Liam, however, is extremely well-dressed for the circles Gabe runs in, and can even be remotely considered handsome with his bleached blonde hair (a strange contrast against his dark skin) and mysterious black eyes. They’re intensely difficult to read, but Percy’s gotten good at it after so many nights of learning to gamble._

_He grins wickedly as his turn comes around. “Raise. All in,” he declares. Liam studies him for a moment. There’s a momentary pause as they regard each other. Sugar watches curiously. Neither move a muscle, simply staring. Suddenly, Percy smirks. Liam scowls._

_“Fold,” he grumbles._

_Percy looks at Sugar, an eyebrow raised. She smiles back. “Sorry, kiddo. Those little tricks don’t work on me.” She pushes all of her chips in as well. Percy holds his smirk a second longer, before moaning, resting his head against the table._

_They reveal their cards at the same time. Liam jumps up in outrage as Sugar cheerfully pulls the chips towards her._

_“You brat! That was a shit hand!” Percy tilts his head up to look at the man, shrugging his shoulders._

_“You thought it was good. Too bad Sugar didn’t.”_

_The woman pats his head patronizingly. “There’s a reason we only let you play with bottle caps, Percy.”_

**2012**

Annabeth comes home to Athena on the first day of the new year gushing about this cool eighth-grader she just met. Her friend Thalia Grace introduced her to handsome Luke Castellan, and she thinks that she's already in love. Athena shakes her head in amusement and wishes her daughter luck. She asks if Frederick knows, and the irritated look that flashes across Annabeth’s face for a second is all the answer she needs.

Just before the summer begins, the di Angelo’s get another puppy. Mrs. O’Leary’s small, but Persephone assures the hoards of children at her door that she’ll grow up to be just as big as Cerberus one day.

_Percy comes over to the store after school on Friday to set up the chairs and get out a cooler of beer. Dave, Chuck, and Eddie are inside, already wasted, losing money to each other in some pathetic excuse for gambling._

_He asks, not really expecting an answer, “Where’s Liam?”_

_Eddie turns to him, bleary-eyed, and replies, “Gabe kicked ‘im outta the poker club.” He stands up and staggers to the door, throwing it open in one move. “Righ’, Gabe?” he calls, as if expecting Percy’s step-father to know what they were talking about._

_Gabe runs in faster than Percy has ever seen him move before. “Shut the hell up, you fucking idiot!” he hisses. “I told you to stay inside and stop scaring my customers away!”_

_Dave raises his head from the top of the chair and shouts something incoherent as Gabe slams the door shut._

_“What ‘e means to say…” says Chuck, slowly. “‘s that… RIGHT GABE!? in that… ya kicked Li-liam outta the secret ‘llegal gamblin’ group.”_

_“Yeah,” Percy’s step-dad replies dismissively. “Found out he was a fuckin’ f*g. Couldn’t stand to be around a cocksucker.” He reaches out an arm, beckoning Percy to the door. “Get out there and earn your keep, brat.”_

_Percy closes his eyes, counts to ten, and complies._

**2013**

Piper and Jason _finally_ get together on Piper’s birthday. The thirteen- and fourteen-year-old are greeted by the groans of their peers when they come to school holding hands the next day, blushing from ear to ear. Reyna in particular sends Piper a little smirk which has the girl looking away in embarrassment. No one notices the way the smiles on the new couple’s faces drop for a millisecond when Leo follows his hard thump on Jason’s back for _finally bagging the Beauty Queen!_ by playfully hitting on his older sister, whose long time girlfriend smacks him upside the head without any real venom behind the attack.

Leo begins to sit on Reyna’s side of the lunch table more often in subsequent days, sometimes skipping the period with the girl all together, claiming that being around the couple and their PDA grosses him out. It becomes common for his best friends to knock on his door, only for Laia to tell them that he's at Hazel’s, or Frank’s, or Reyna’s.

In April, Naomi Grosvenor is 14, only recently orphaned, and Artemis’ heart goes out to the girl. Naomi finds it the hardest to fit into the family, but after Phoebe mentions that she didn’t want to lost her last name either, so Artemis didn’t make her, she relaxes around them.

_Percy winces as he presses a dishrag to the cut above his eyelid. Gabe had apparently lost out on a big sale today because of Eddie bursting into the store, screaming bloody murder, drunk off his ass. Percy just so happened to have returned home during a low point in Gabe’s happiness threshold, and had been awarded a beer bottle to his forehead._

_Luckily, there weren’t any large injuries except for this one, though a long time in the bathroom was needed before he successfully managed to get all the shattered glass out of his hair._

_Unluckily, Percy lacks the patience for this sort of thing. “Stop bleeding. Stop bleeding. Stop bleeding,” he chants, willing the process to be over and done with._

_There’s knocking at the front door, and Percy sighs, knowing that Gabe is too inebriated to even pretend he’ll get it. He uses his free hand to push open the bathroom door and walks to the entrance, stepping over his step-father along the way._

_Before the door has opened any more the a crack, Sugar slams her way in, not even bothering to speak to Percy. “Oh, baby!” she cries out, collapsing on top of Gabe. “Tell me what’s wrong, love!”_

_She clutches Gabe’s sweaty, old t-shirt and stares at him imploringly. It seems to somewhat snap the man out of it. He leers down at the attractive woman._

_“Nothing_ _you _ _can’t fix,” he says, a look on his face that reminds Percy of a walrus dying. Then, he proceeds to grab her head and crash his lips into hers. Despite Percy’s lack of experience in the matter, he figures that’s probably not how kissing is supposed to be done. Sugar isn’t complaining, though, so maybe he’s wrong._

_It’s when Gabe moans and Sugar begins to kiss lower than his face that Percy decides it’s time to get the hell out of there. However, it seems that Gabe is still in a vengeful mood._

_As Percy begins to close the bathroom door again, Gabe calls, “So much better than your whore of a mom, little bastard!”_

_Percy closes his eyes and counts to ten. Then, he punches the wall. When he reopens his eyes, his knuckles are bleeding, but his head wound has finally stopped._

**2014**

Over the summer before high school, Apollo takes on a younger relative of his while the boy’s parents are on an indefinite research trip deep into the Amazon jungle. It's a bit difficult for people to get Octavian’s off-kilter, dark sense of humor, but the younger generation attempts to adjust to him. He makes friends with Luke, who's good at understanding people, and he hangs around Reyna a lot as well. No one misses the way his eyes follow Rachel Dare wherever she goes.

Her friends stare at freshman Annabeth as she is asked to Homecoming by a handsome sophomore. She accepts Luke’s cheesy proposal ( _Let’s be Hydrogen and Oxygen and bond together for Homecoming! Water you waiting for?_ ), and he asks her to date him at the dance. Thalia laughs later, exclaiming something about Luke losing his street cred, but Annabeth thinks that it was perfect.

When spring break ends, Clarisse La Rue and Chris Rodriguez are laughing together intimately, which comes out of left field for many who have never seen the eldest La Rue smile. Apparently, their relationship had been going on for a while, but they kept it a secret until Chris could somehow win Ares’ favor. No one is certain how he accomplished that Herculean task.

_“Hey, Ugliano.”_

_Percy doesn’t need to turn around to know who’s calling his name. He pulls on an old T-shirt._

_“Fuck off, Miller,” he replies. “I don’t have time to deal with you today.” And he doesn’t. He’s already pushing the limit as it is; he needs to get to the store and charm some sympathetic ladies into a new TV and out of their money._

_The reply turns out to be a mistake._

_A hand grabs Percy’s shoulder, jerking his body around and shoving his back against the cold steel of his locker. Miller’s hand is wet, and Percy stiffens, trying not to shudder at the sensation._

_“Think you’re too good to talk to us_ _real _ _swimmers, do you?” Miller’s face is centimeters away from his. Percy clenches his fists. As much as he wants to punch the boy out, the principal of the middle school has already made it clear that if he gets into another fight, he’s through._

_If worst comes to worst, Percy will still knock him unconscious, though._

_Percy opens his mouth to reply, but is cut off._

_“Shut the hell up, Jackson.” Walker’s voice is deep, menacing. Percy looks out from behind Miller’s head and he sees most of the varsity swimmers crowding behind their teammate._

_Walker continues, “Why did you even come?”_

_They’re all glaring, half-dressed, damp from the chlorinated water of the school pool, and look pretty pissed off. Percy curses inwardly. He could probably take Miller, and maybe even Walker too (though the boy has a couple inches on him), but he definitely would end up in the hospital if the entire team came at him._

_“Ask your coach,” Percy spits out. He hadn’t wanted to be there, to crash their practice, but Mr. Hall had given him an ultimatum that he was loath to refuse._

_“Oh, we know_ _why_ _, but what we’re really wondering is why you didn’t take the suspension. After all, you have to know that no one wants you here.”_

_Percy knows that. But spending Tuesdays after school with a team of boys he hates has nothing on spending the day with Gabe at the store._

_Percy forces a smirk onto his face. “You’re just mad that I beat you at every practice race. What, can’t handle having your feelings hurt? Were the extra laps too much for your poor little hearts?”_

_Miller’s fist comes fast. Percy’s head slams back into the locker and he’s dazed for a few second seconds, vision blurring. He doesn’t let that stop him._

_“Fuck you,” he growls and pounces onto the other boy, getting a few hits in before he’s knocked to the ground by Nelson and Walker._

_Coach Hall just sighs deeply when Percy comes to him the next day asking for the suspension. He doesn’t ask why, though Percy is sure the question is on the man’s mind. He just nods his head in acceptance and tells him to come back on Monday._

_The principal looks decidedly unsympathetic when Percy shows up a day out of his enforced break with a black eye and Walker and Miller getting treated in the infirmary. Percy honestly does not care about the man’s irritation. Compared to educational professionals who care more about pride than the well-being of their students, to Percy, there are far worse things in this world._

**2015**

Leo gets trashed at a Christmas party and ends up shacking up with a drunk Calypso for the night. The older girl, awkwardly in the morning, agrees to go on a date with him, despite never having agreed to it before. They return from winter break an official couple. Leo’s friends are supportive, but there's an undercurrent to Piper and Jason’s words that that Leo chooses to ignore, unable to put his finger on what exactly it is.

Juniper Gardner comes to lunch on the first day back in the New Year and shyly asks Grover if he wants to go out with her some time. He somehow managed to stutter out an affirmative. Leo laughs and promises that Grover will text her, and Juniper smiles uncertainly, her head in the clouds, before walking back to her own table to tell her friends the news. They're official within a month.

Frank Zhang surprises the di Angelo’s by showing up one night in May to pick up Hazel Levesque for an informal dance at the middle school. Hazel scoffs at her dumbfounded siblings and parents. _You didn't think we’re just friends, did you?_ Hades and Nico sulk because _They grow up too fast_.

It's Katie Gardner’s senior year when she and Travis Stoll finally stop beating around the bush about each other. They go to Senior Ball together despite him only being a sophomore. They decide that when she graduates, they’ll maintain a long-distance relationship. Travis’ brother Connor gags whenever he sees them together.

_Percy’s newest principal likes to think that she honestly tried with him. However, just because she did, doesn’t mean that the rest of the faculty or any members of the student body wanted to help out the poor, misguided delinquent._

_Still, she bids him to work hard wherever he goes after leaving the school. She begs him not to get into anymore fights. She tells him to be like his nice step-father, an entrepreneur who has his own business._

_It is around this point that Percy tunes her out. They’re barely a few blocks away from the collection of buildings in which Percy once went to school when Gabe tugs him into a back alley and slugs him in the stomach. Percy’s fists clench. He counts to ten, letting his mind wander to a different place, a place where pain doesn’t exist._

_Gabe warns him not to come back. Percy takes the advice and camps out in the alley for the night. He doesn’t have anything on him for anyone to steal, so it doesn’t matter if he’s left without protection against the people who walk the streets at night. He lies, staring at the few twinkling stars he can see, and wonders if the exposure might just finally kill him._

_He returns home around noon the next day and cleans up. Gabe’s at work, and when he returns, he orders Percy to make him something to eat, so Percy figures all is forgiven._

_Still, that night, Percy looks out the window at the bustling streets below, and wonders if he’ll ever make it out of this life. He wonders if it would just be better to jump, to fly like a bird for the first (and the last) time._

_He quickly shakes the dark thoughts from his mind. For now, at least, he knows he has something to live for, something no one, not even Gabe, can take away. And for that something’s sake, he’ll keep the secret of their meetings close to his soul forever; after all, no one can know that he has had contact with his little brother._

**2016 (part 1)**

The end of the 2015-2016 school year passes quietly, with few major events occurring. The community breaks for summer just as it has in past years. None are expecting what is to come.

A fire breaks out in an apartment complex on the other side of the country. Two perish in the flames, a husband and a wife pair; their young son survives them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that I've portrayed these characters well enough. I don't know if I'll get enough time to go into detail on some of them, mostly because as I wrote them, almost all of them interest me in different ways. What are Octavian's parents doing in the Amazon? What happened to little latchkey kid thief Hermes in juvy? How did Frank and Hazel happen? Clarisse and Chris? Thalia and Phoebe. In general.
> 
> There's so much I want to elaborate on, and I don't know if I'll have enough room to do so here. The order of importance of things that definitely must happen currently goes:  
> Percy's new living situation  
> Some stuff going on back in New York that's far bigger than you could imagine  
> Percy/Luke/Annabeth and everything that surrounds that  
> Luke and Hermes and May  
> Jason/Piper/Leo and everything that surrounds that  
> Aphrodite's and Ares' many problems  
> Rachel/Octavian  
> Nico/Will


	2. Prologue Part 2(?) - Snapshots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little glimpse into the plot outside of the romance to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. It's been a while, hasn't it? Some of you have been waiting for over two years. Some of you just found this.
> 
> Sorry, but you're probably not going to appreciate this. I'll get into my excuses at the end; for now, I just want to tell you what you're about to get into.
> 
> This story has not been dropped. But it's not going to be completed for a little while. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I ever was going to add anything to it, but reading what you guys have said about it, I decided I couldn't abandon it completely.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter probably has nothing of what you came for - the romance, I imagine, since that's what I usually troll this site for, in order to fill the empty chasm inside of me. This might actually confuse most of you - outside of the relationships between the characters, this is a little indication of where the story was going, though even the blurbs I'm posted are a little misleading.
> 
> Thank you for your support. I have no idea why you've handed it to me, but I wear it proudly on my head like a hat. Even in the shower. It's a lifestyle.

**I.**

Back in the days of comfort and laughter, there was a drawer in the kitchen, next to the knives, and in it, Sally would tell Percy, were things too precious to ever see the light of day. Fragile things, not in consistency, not in touch, but easily cracked in the way something broken can never quite return to its prior innocence.

It was a grave of artifacts, relics of a life that Percy’s mother once lived, a time that Percy would never be able to see. Sally made it a rule to never open the drawer, and if she could, she may have bound it in chains, locked it tight, thrown away the key, and clung more tightly to the life she had harvested out of the loneliness and muck, to her son of solitary comfort. But something so bold, likely, screamed finality in a jarring way, and Sally was nothing if not a child of doors being closed before the knobs were even turned and learning to lockpick the wavering windows left behind. She was not the type to willingly say goodbye.

Regardless, precociousness was a trait closely bound by Jackson DNA, and the moment Percy could reach, he tried to rifle through the contents of the drawer.

Perhaps, it was his mother’s influence, the faraway look she grasped with her eyes every time she accidentally jiggled its handle. Perhaps, there was a strange sort of power melting through those yellowing postcards ( _ Sallybug! Daddy’s conference is  _ _ so _ _ boring! Can’t wait to see you - don’t be too mean to Ricky!)  _ and tear-stained letters, those received ( _ My Dear Niece - I’m so sorry _ … ), and those never sent ( _ I wish I never met you. And I wish I hadn’t lost you to a different sea, back to your godly burdens that we mortals could  _ _ never _ _ understand. _ ).

Percy only ever looked through the drawer once.

He forgot most of what was in there. It seemed too sacred for someone like him to bear witness, like a thief stealing something he could never understand. Still, among the tribute to the past, was a fading picture, tinted like a memory, something Percy pushed away but never could quite shake from his mind.

It was picture of a man, standing terrible and prone to the ocean waves, a sturdy man who could step on the clear summer tides of Montauk and shatter them. His back faced the camera, tanned skin glowing under the final plea of a sunset, clothes laced through the fingers of the wind. Sally had labelled it -  _ Poseidon _ .

Now, sitting on the couch of a man named after death, hunched over a mug of coffee that still lingered with the heat of the woman carved from jewels, who now busied herself in the kitchen, Percy’s eyes can’t help but fall on framed picture over the fireplace.  _ Three Kings _ , it reads in a soft golden font, and Percy feels something pulsing, rising inside of him, crawling, arching, his hands shaking - those sea green eyes, so much like his own, now facing the camera, and, and, a man - a man lost to a different sea.

The door bangs open, slamming against the wall, and the man collapsing into the house pauses, eyebrows drawing tight together. “Who the hell are you?”

Percy jerks up, coffee spilling over his jeans as he stumbles. “Liam?” he says in disbelief.

 

**II.**

Tyson is shaking him. “‘Peeercy… I’m coooold.”

Percy sighs, reaching down and ruffling his hair. “I know, buddy. It’s weird, isn’t it? New York’s probably colder, but this is worse somehow.”

“Windy,” Tyson agrees, nodding emphatically. Then, “I like wind, though. If you’re gonna be here too…” He holds tight to the end of Percy’s jacket, pressing his face into the smooth material.

Percy stops walking. He crouches down, letting his knees hit the cool pavement of the sidewalk. He places his hands on Tyson’s cheeks, looking him square in the eyes.

What does he want to say? It’s not going to get better, definitely not, but that’s not something he can tell a kid like Tyson, someone so bright and untouched by everything. Tyson’s visible brown eye is a little dewey, but he squeezes it shut in stubborn refusal to cry, and Percy reminds himself that he can’t call Tyson  _ untouched _ , can’t do that to the lonely little boy, to brush off problems and pretend Tyson’s always going to be innocent.

“What do you want to eat? It’s my treat,” he says, and even though it sounds like  _ It would be so much better if you just hated me _ , it tastes like defeat in his mouth, and the BART timetable crumpled up in his pocket weighs just the slightest bit more heavily.

 

**III.**

Her nails bite into his skin, piercing like the glare in her eyes, weighty anger burning on her pretty face.

“Ow!” he says, and it erupts out him like he’s startled for even vocalizing it. “Sugar, what the hell?”

She doesn’t reply, jerking him back until he hits the door, and she leans in closer, dangerous, slow like a dagger resting against his throat. Someone outside stumbles past the closet, yelling like a raucous drunk, and all at once, Percy is aware of the heavy, heedy bass beating against his back, sizzling across the floor. The shadow passes smoothly through the crack at the bottom of the door.

“Sugar,” he says, “You’re scaring me.”

“You shouldn’t have come back, Perce,” she replies. She throws her hand from his chest, pressing forcefully into her forehead, stumbling backward. Her eyes are wide, and she’s starting to breathe unsteadily, puffing and shaken. She says, “You shouldn’t have fucking come back.”

 

**IV.**

All Percy can take in is Liam, swirling between tables, Liam in a tight black shirt with straining buttons - Liam who had been draped over a man, kissing him with such passion Percy couldn’t help but look away. He says to the man who had his arm on Percy’s shoulder, “Thanks, but he’s fine.”

Says the gruff man with the sweaty palm, “Damn, Ferryman, leave some cuties for the rest of us.”

Liam laughs, and Percy flinches back at the fakeness of it - or he would have, but Liam grabs his wrist, tugging not so gently,  before he can get any closer to the stranger. “Get the Hell out of here,” Liam orders, like a glass of wine.

The guy stiffens, starts to protest, but -

“I mean it,” says Liam. And then he’s gone.

He settles into the bench in front of Percy, and all of a sudden, it’s too intense. He yelled at Luke earlier, but now, he needs something to anchor him, to pull him back from the beautiful man with the black hole eyes who could stare tears into Percy’s chest.

“Percy,” Liam says, leaning low over the table. “I’ll cut to the chase.”

Percy gulps, feeling his heartbeat begin to hammer. He grabs his hand, pressing it against the chair to quell the shaking. Liam’s eyelashes flutter, and Percy struggles to right himself under the overwhelming and utter heaviness.

“Let’s make a bet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was short, wasn't it? I'm sorry. But anyway, I promised excuses, so here they come.
> 
> I've been stupidly depressed pretty much all my life for many a reason, and growing up I leaned heavily on the escape and fantasy provided by books, which eventually led to fanfiction. Even though it didn't fit quite right, I told myself that I'd be a best-selling author when I grew up. What better way to prepare for that than beginning to write fic? So, I uploaded a few chapters of a naruto genderbend and a pjo oc fic to ffnet because I was 13 okay.
> 
> I forgot about them quick, and I began growing up, and I started to worry that I was losing my chance to write past canon the way I always did. I'd convinced myself that I'd get published as soon as I was an adult, and *obviously* published authors don't write fanfiction, so I needed to get it all out while I could (I was a bit of an idiot). Throughout this time, I realized that I was beginning to outgrow some of my most favorite series - Percy Jackson in particular. I barely kept up with the Kane Chronicles when Rick released them, relatively hated the Heroes of Olympus (though the first few were fine), and there was no way I was going to read Magnus Chase or the Trials of Apollo with the same enthusiasm that I used to devour The Lightning Thief when I was 8.
> 
> I'm a dramatic asshole, so I knew that I needed a proper burial for the thing I'd always loved. Thus - 39 pages of prologue. I'd mapped out this story at least somewhat. I had an idea of where it would go and what I would do. There were two other stories I wanted to complete and upload, each progressively worse, and therefore progressively better. But - life. Depression. The Whole Deal.
> 
> I wrote the prologue after the worst goddamn summer of my life, and then proceeded to enter, academically, the worst school year of my life. To be honest, I think there was no way I could've continued this with what was going on in the real world. In the last two years, I've reoriented myself a lot. I've knocked myself down a few pegs, pushed myself up a few other ones, and faced a lot of what I think it means to be human and an active participant in the world, and in my life.
> 
> I'm still depressed, there's no getting around that. Some days are particularly worse than others. I can't say for sure what the future holds, but I'm trying to grow and be positive about where I can go. Right now, I want to focus on applying for college. I want to take control of my life. Fic is an expression of escape for me; I can't focus on that with the way I am right now.
> 
> But - a lot of you really liked this story for some reason, so I want to promise myself that I'll come back here and finish it. Here's what I'm thinking: February. I'll be completely done applying, and I'll just be stressing about getting accepted/rejected/rescinded afterwards.
> 
> I want to thank you for being patient or not being patient, whatever, for even reading this honestly, you, the weirdly dedicated group who I love so fiercely, to tell me what you want to hear.
> 
> So. Yeah. February.
> 
> I'm not going to write any of the things stored in my pocket until then. I might take oneshot requests to destress. It depends. On if I get any.
> 
> If you wanna fight me in the mean time, hmu: qink.tumblr.com  
> See you then!


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